Manipal Owner Temasek to Buy a Cut of Haldiram's for a Premium Price

In an interesting move, Investment firm Temasek Holdings which owns majority shares of Manipal Hospitals, plans to enter into FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) sector of the country, as Temasek has agreed to pay $1 billion for near about 10% stakes of Haldiram's which is one of the top FMCG company. The deal translates into valuation of the company of approx. INR 84,000 cr. The deal highlights Temasek's strategic focus on expanding its presence in the Indian consumer market.

Now think like that, you are eating palm oil fried bhujia from Haldiram's and enjoying Netflix. Suddenly you have a severe chest pain and rushed to nearest Manipal Hospitals. You undergo angioplasty and by God's grace you did well - doctors at Manipal did really good job, saving you. In both ways, you are being skimmed and the money goes to Singapore via Temasek. 

Indian Telcos to Dilute Digital Divide between Rural and Urban Areas

Though sky is the limit, the urban wireless teledensity reached 124.31% and multi-SIM users are declining, the Indian telecom service providers are now looking for rural expansion as rural wireless teledensity was just 57.89% (Data at the end of December 2024).

Rural connectivity is now concentrated on access to OTT media, use of social media, content creation over different sites/apps, UPI payments. But data usage is still limited, and in coming days the usage may go sky-rocketed with carpet-coverage. In short as you offer, people will grab it more. 

For Jio, it has an advantage that it started with 4G and therefore Jio's 4G presence is quite better than the competitors, as both Airtel and Vi had ditched their 3G operations, and looking for 2G sunset which can't be done before 2027 and brought 4G and 5G in selected pockets where revenue generation is high.